Excited to see this play out! I like a detailed and methodical approach to a project. I’m just terrible about documenting my own projects haha.

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress with the GRC. I've enjoyed following your Focus RS build, even though my RS has been rehomed and I'm on the fence regarding the GRC.

 

Hank-

Thrilled to see you here. Sold my '18 RS last year which had many of your fingerprints on it, just an awseome car that I owned thinking we'd never have a bite at the GR Yaris apple.

For others; Hank is the 5% and why we slog through forums for documented information and educated opinions.

Cheers!

Dave

 

nice, looking forward for the updates.

 

What are your plans for more power?

 

First I have to find a reliable tuner that has a ton of happy GR Corolla clients. I'm limited on power in my Focus RS because of the stock block. I learn by example. Once enough folks take the plunge and start making reliable power, I will decide how much will fix my needs.

 

Hank! I remember you from the RS forum! I lost mine in 2020 when I douche rear ended me. Been missing it ever since and feel the GRC is a good replacement. Cant wait to see what you do with yours!

 

Pictures along the way:
Window Tint installed. More information here.

 

Pictures along the way:
First Detail + PPF installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) Full body PPF with Suntek Ultra Tack. Then entire GRC was ceramic coated with Feynlab products.

 

Pictures along the way:
Advanced Wheel Locks installed. More information here.

 

Pictures along the way:
Blackvue Dashcams installed. More information here.

 

Pictures along the way:
V1 Radar Detector installed. More information here.

 

Nice Hank. Enjoyed your RS build on that forum. You are behind me on all this but will surpass me soon I’m sure.

That dash cam looks good. A tip..upgrade your V1 for the new one. I just did. New one is so much better, the G2. I just did a phone mount in the GRC (via a frame that mounts over the headunit and looks factory OEM) for the V1 app since the G2 has BT built in. The app is fantastic to use and you get a much bigger arrow indicator, signal strength, etc. Then there are alternative apps (that cost money though) you can use instead of the V1 app.

 

Do you use eSAVVY with your G2? Whenever I try and enable it it says it can't get my speed even though the app has location permissions and doesn't seem to ever mute. It's going off so often from automatic doors while stopped at lights that I'm considering dropping the $70 on the OBDII dongle version.

I'll try resetting the permissions and leaving my screen on whenever I drive next.

 

Pictures along the way:
Modern Spare Tire Kit installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) Instead of purchasing additional hold down rings from Toyota and using a ratchet strap, I opted for a Rivnut and hold down bolt in a factory hole in the GR Corolla's hatchback floor. And there's actually another section of flooring below the Rivnut thanks to Toyota.

 

Pictures along the way:
Modern Spare Tire Kit installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) Instead of purchasing additional hold down rings from Toyota and using a ratchet strap, I opted for a Rivnut and hold down bolt in a factory hole in the GR Corolla's hatchback floor. And there's actually another section of flooring below the Rivnut thanks to Toyota.

This is the best iteration of a spare tire for our cars that I’ve seen yet. Looks like factory, great idea with the rivnut!

 

Pictures along the way:
LED Rear Bumper Reflectors installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) I did not go with aftermarket Chinesium reflectors with LED strips already installed that burn out in a week or so.
2) I purchased HD LED Red Strip accent lights from Diode Dynamics (made in the USA) that include a 3-year warranty.
3) By installing the LED strips into the factory reflectors, I maintain safety when my GR is parked with the lights off and a vehicle approaches it from behind.
4) I could not find a plug-n-play harness, therefore I had to cut/solder/heat shrink the factory tail light harness INSIDE the hatch area.
5) I did NOT remove the rear bumper or tail lights to complete this modification! Drilled (2) factory plugs in the hatch floor for wiring grommets!
6) Total of (84) pictures (some annotated) on my how-to page in the link above.
7) I apologize in advance for the filthiness of my GRC. This icy winter bullsh*t sucks. 😖

 

Do you know the part number for the reflectors? I'm planning to do the prep work this winter and install it next summer.

 

Nice work! Amazing how nice those rear LEDs look at night. Wish that had been factory setup.

Do you have a total budget figure in mind, or just go until you meet your objectives for the car?

 

Thanks for the compliments. No real budget. It is a daily compared to my Focus RS autox build. I'll just document it for my build website so others will know the costs.

 

It looks like there is only 2 wires to the strip itself but you have 3 spliced in. I wonder if the dim and full function is in the power inverter. I like the clean and solid led look. Once Mine burn out that would be the next option. I need to test this with my flasher set up.

 

Below is a little verbiage about the driver from the Diode Dynamics specs for the HD LED Red Strip. I opted for running light and brake light functions only. It would look funny to me for a vertical LED strip to be used as a turn signal.

PWM Control: Aside from the high brightness and perfectly uniform output, one great feature of these strips is the integrated multifunction PWM dimming control. The drivers have four wires, to be connected to any 12V signals as follows:

White: White Low Power, 50% brightness
Red: White High Power, 100% brightness
Yellow: Amber Signal, double brightness, flashing (dims if powered more than two seconds)
Black: Ground

 

Pictures along the way:
Longer Rear Wiper installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) Factory rear wiper is 12" long.
2) I purchased a Bosch rear wiper that's 16" long from O'Reilly Auto Parts for $14.
3) I continue to apologize for the filthiness of my GRC. This icy winter bullsh*t sucks.

 

Great work! I've been wondering about this. Going to buy this exact wiper today

 

Appreciate the thorough documentation you have started. You folks make all the difference for us jumping in later trying to DIY - gonna grab that wiper blade immediately.

 

Pictures along the way:
Delta X Motorsport Pitch Mount installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) Both undertrays need to be removed.
2) I purchased both 60A and 70A bushing sets from Delta X. Trying 60A first.
3) Install requires (3) torque wrenches to cover the broad range of torques.
4) Delta X mentions a break-in period for any of the bushings. Some NVH will be generated no matter what.
5) Total of (29) images on my personal build site with tons of information to complete the swap.

 

Pictures along the way:
Completed first oil change at 1,177 miles. More information here.

Notes:
1) Only the engine lower access panel needs to be removed.
2) Torque the oil drain plug to 30 lb-ft with a new crush washer. Oil filter is hand-tightened with a lubricated o-ring.
3) Manual calls for 4.5 quarts of oil with a filter change.
4) After changing the oil, run the engine until warm, shut it off, then check oil level on the dipstick after 3 minutes.
5) Total of (19) images on my personal build site with more information on completing the oil change.

 

Congrats on the GRC.

I like how you have everything well documented from your RS build. Looks like you are off to a great start with the GRC.
Please do continue to share. Some pretty awesome builds for the GRC are starting to pop up around the US.
If you ever need info or parts feel free to reach out. There are a few customers that we know of who rebuilt the stock block as soon as they go the car. There will be some exciting things happening this year for the GRC on the strip.

 

Pictures along the way:
2024 Model Year Updates installed. More information here.

Notes:
1) Total of (5) undertray panels need to be removed. No wiring plugs need to be removed for this install.
2) Install took about 2 hours. The (4) bolts were easy. I took my time with the ducting/aluminum tape to figure out the easiest method.
3) As a mechanical engineer I'm not sure what is really different about the replacement bolts.

- New rear subframe bolts have 3 impressions at the tip (OE has 4). New bolts have 24mm head (OE is 22mm). Washers same diameter.​

- New rear subframe bolts have less taper at tip on new bolts. Maybe cases of lost preload?​

- New steering rack bolts look identical except head marking (10 vs 1). Change in material of construction?​

- New steering rack nuts are identical as manual calls out replacing if bolt is changed.​

4) Total of (80) images on my personal build site with more information on completing these updates.

 

New rear subframe bolts have less taper at tip on new bolts.

That taper on the original is also a cutting feature. A bolt like that is used when the engineer thinks there will be residual coating or metal in the hole and the bolt needs to clear the threads while engaging. The disadvantage is those pseudo "threads" don't count in the total thread engagement.

In addition to providing space for that cleared material, that additional taper or "lead-in" also helps the worker not cross thread the bolt. On a high torque fastener if the worker gets it cross threaded, due to the torque capability of the tightening tool, the bolt may go in deep enough to damage an expensive component beyond safe repair.

Your lost preload guess is probably pretty good. May also be workers damaging the case with the bolt. Since this is a low volume vehicle, they may be using less sophisticated equipment to align tightening tools, meaning more possibility for cross threaded bolts. Another possibility is they found the extra features were not needed and the new bolt would definitely be cheaper. Toyota will change a bolt for even a few cent savings. I used to work there and saw that many times.

 

For those folks considering the Delta X Motorsport (or alternate) pitch mount for their GR Corolla, below is a video of my car with the 60A bushings installed after a break-in period of 600 miles. In this video my A/C is on while idling in a parking lot.

It's definitely not for the driver that is easily irritated by a slight increase in NVH. I'm living with it for the performance benefit and I like to see my wife's boobies jiggle.

 

Need proof of said "jiggling". We see it, or it didn't happen.

 

Hank,

Was there an outline from the factory for the magic tape inside the bumper skin?

 

On my GRC there were outlines inside the front/rear bumpers to place the aluminum tape. Because I thought most (if not all) of the 2023 GRCs had those same outlines, I didn't document the measurements in my how-to on the 2024 Model Year Updates. It turns out some 2023 GRCs didn't have those outlines. My GRC has a build date of 04/17/23. I have no clue what build dates have or don't have the bumper outlines.

 

Decided to go with Stratified Automotive Controls as my tuner. Ordered an ECUTEK dongle and license. Asked for (2) fuel tunes (93 octane and E30).

Debating on purchasing an Eventuri intake.